After Virgil was ambushed and maimed in Tombstone, he and Allie moved to his parents' home in
Colton, California, to recover from his wounds, which took almost two years. He sought treatment for his wounds in San Francisco and was interviewed on the Southern Pacific train by a reporter whose story was printed in the
San Francisco Examiner on May 27, 1882. The reporter described Virgil's appearance: Despite the use of only one arm, Virgil was hired by the
Southern Pacific Railroad to guard its tracks in Colton's famous "
battle of the crossing". Virgil carried a top break revolver that could be reloaded with one hand. Southern Pacific was attempting to stop the
California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, from installing a crossing over the Southern Pacific tracks in Colton to gain access to California, which resulted in the
frog war. Governor Waterman deputized a posse from
San Bernardino, California and came down in person to enforce construction of the crossing, ending the Southern Pacific's railroad monopoly in Southern California. In 1884 Earp's father, Nicholas Porter Earp was elected
justice of the peace in Colton. Two years later, Virgil Earp opened a
private detective agency, which by all accounts he had quit by 1886, when he was elected village
constable in July. When Colton was incorporated as a city, Earp was elected as Colton's first City Marshal on July 11, 1887. He was paid $75 a month and was re-elected to another term in 1888. Among other duties, he was reported to have cleared blocked sewers and kept track of the electric light bulbs. Virgil and Allie Earp's Colton home still stands at 528 West "H" Street. In 1888 Earp resigned as city marshal and he and Allie left Colton for
San Bernardino. Five years later, in 1893, he and his wife moved to the short-lived mining town
Vanderbilt, California. He owned and operated the only two-story building in town, Earp's Hall, a saloon and meeting hall used for public gatherings and even the town's church services. His business success in Vanderbilt did not match his success in politics, and he lost the election for town constable in 1894. In 1895, Virgil and Allie traveled to Cripple Creek,
Colorado, where they met Virgil's brother Wyatt. They stayed briefly and soon moved back to
Prescott in
Yavapai County, Arizona, where Virgil became involved in mining. Virgil started mining in the Hassayampa district in partnership with W.H. Harlon. They leased the Grizzly mine owned by W.C. Hanson. The Prescott
Weekly Journal-Miner reported on November 8, 1896, that the day before "a serious accident had occurred at this mine. Virgil Earp and W. H. Harlon were working in a tunnel. The ground caved catching Mr. Earp and pinning him to the ground. He was unconscious for several hours and Dr. Abbott, was called to dress his wounds." The doctor told Earp he had dislocated his right hip. Both his feet and ankles were badly crushed, he had a serious cut on his head and bruises all over his body. The doctor said it would be several weeks before Virgil would be able to move around again, but it took him much longer to recover. They moved south after that and began ranching in the
Kirkland Valley. Virgil was nominated as the Republican candidate for
Yavapai county sheriff in 1900 but declined the nomination, possibly for health reasons.
Reunites with first wife In 1898 Earp received a startling letter from a Mrs. Levi Law. At the end of the Civil War, his wife Ellen was told by her family that Virgil had been killed. Her family had been against their marriage. They took her and the baby daughter Nellie to Walla Walla, Washington, where she later married Thomas Eaton. She had four more children. Mrs. Levi Law was Virgil's daughter, Nellie. The next year, encouraged by his wife, Virgil traveled to
Portland, Oregon, where he was reunited with Ellen and Nellie Jane Law. On April 22, 1898,
The Oregonian reported that Earp "... is now enjoying a very pleasant visit with her and his two grandchildren at her home, which is near that of Mrs. Eaton, in North Portland." He also met three grandchildren he never knew existed. Later that year, according to her letter to
The Oregonian, Nellie Jane visited Virgil and Allie Earp at their home in Arizona.
Death in Nevada Before 1904, Virgil and Allie returned to Colton, where city records show that he along with three others unsuccessfully petitioned the city leaders to repeal a temperance law that allowed only one
saloon in town. In 1904, they left California for the last time and moved to the boom town of
Goldfield in
Esmeralda County, Nevada, where Virgil planned to open a saloon. He quickly discovered there was plenty of competition and realized he didn't have the capital required. Virgil and Allie were down to their last dollar so he took up gambling, at which he had been good. In January 1905 he was hired as a deputy sheriff for Esmeralda County, where he was essentially a county paid security guard at the National Club. Virgil caught
pneumonia in February 1905. His brother Wyatt was also living in Goldfield and visited with him. Earp slowly got better and attended an Order of Eagles meeting in May. The serious injuries he had sustained during the mine cave-in several years earlier had left him debilitated and he never recovered his full health. Earp's recovery from pneumonia did not last and in early October he had a relapse. On October 19, 1905, Earp died at St. Mary's hospital in Goldfield. In her memoirs, Allie wrote that Virgil's last words were, "Light my cigar, and stay here and hold my hand." His brother Wyatt was the last surviving participant of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Virgil was also survived by his father
Nicholas, brothers
James and
Newton, wife Allie, and daughter Nellie. At the request of his daughter, Nellie Jane Bohn, Allie sent his body to
Portland, Oregon, and he was buried in the
River View Cemetery there. ==In popular culture==